Flutterwave has secured a Nigerian banking licence, a move the company says will allow it to hold funds and deposits directly and improve the speed and reliability of transactions on its platform in Nigeria. The company announced the development on Thursday, describing it as a major step in its expansion from payments processing into broader banking and financial services.
The fintech said the licence gives it greater control over how money moves within its ecosystem, reducing its dependence on third-party systems for key settlement functions. According to the company, that shift will help businesses receive funds faster and improve operational uptime across its services.
Flutterwave said the new licence will enable merchants to access faster settlements, giving them quicker access to revenue for restocking, payroll and other daily business needs. It also said businesses will be able to manage more of their financial operations in one place, including accounts, collections, payouts and multi-currency services.
On its banking product page, Flutterwave said its offering is designed for large enterprises, growing businesses and digital platforms that need treasury tools, automated payouts, revenue splits and account infrastructure. The company also said developers will be able to build financial products on top of its banking systems through application programming interfaces.
Flutterwave founder and chief executive officer Olugbenga Agboola said the approval would make the company’s infrastructure more efficient and help it deliver faster and more reliable financial services. He said the company’s direct participation in the financial system would streamline money movement, accelerate settlement for merchants and support sustainable long-term growth.
The company added that the banking licence will support future lending products, including working capital and merchant loans, while consumer banking features are also expected to be added to Send App, its remittance platform. Flutterwave said the broader platform already supports millions of users and businesses across Africa and beyond.
While Flutterwave described the approval as a Nigerian banking licence, several Nigerian media reports identified it more specifically as a national microfinance banking licence. The company’s official announcement reviewed for this report did not use that narrower label, so the exact licence classification was not independently confirmed from a regulatory notice at the time of writing.
The development marks an important shift for Flutterwave in its home market, where it is seeking to move beyond payment rails into a more integrated financial services model for merchants, platforms and consumers.
